Your Love is Dangerous

Ch.1:A young Goddess

"Asteria! Hurry up with the rice your father and I are starving!"
I cringed at the sound of my stepmother's voice.
That woman was so annoying and so demanding I couldn't bring myself to understand what my father saw in her.
As I stirred the rice and fried a few shrimps on the stove, I began to think about how wonderful life was when my real mother was alive.
She was so beautiful, her name was Yukari. She always wore bright colors like purple and pink and always smelled like cherry blossoms.
I remember her combing my hair and telling me how she named me after the goddess of the stars.
That story was always my favorite because it made me feel as if I was meant for something great. Something out of this world, and something that would make me bright and shiny like a real star.
I also remember how much my father loved her. How he would glance at her loving when we all say at the dinner table.
How he would take her into his arms and tell her there was no other woman he could ever love more than her.
It's amazing how something as simple as a fever could take her away from us.
According to the doctor it was scarlet fever that took her away.
I can also remember crying as she layed there holding my hand and telling me to be strong. To always be myself and to never forget how much she loved me.
I was only 10 when she passed, but the pain of losing her still stayed with me all these years later.
Not being able to cope with her death, my father kept busy by working. But he would come home less and less. He would be fine for days at a time and left me alone to cook and care for our house.
When I asked him where he was or why he wasn't coming home he would tell me to "mind my damn business and to leave him alone."
Eventually I got used to being alone. But it still hurts to know that my father didn't consider me a priority anymore.
But my whole world changed when I turned 17.
My father came home one night and I was excited to see him and have dinner with him like we used to do.
But there he stood, with another woman. Skinny, black hair up in a small bun, a mole on the side of her lip, and way to much makeup on her face.
"Asteria, this is May-Long, she's going to my wife soon isn't that great?" My father said happily.
May-Long just looked at me like I was an ugly ray who was bothering her.
I just gritted my teeth and did my best to be happy for my father.
But yet here we are today. The two of them are married and I'm no longer daughter. I'm more of a servant.
I cook, I clean, and I watch in disgust as May-Long spends my father's money on clothes and makeup and complains about everything I do.
I can't wait to finally leave this place behind.
With a sigh I grabbed the tray of food and walked into the dinning room. Knowing this would be another awkward family night that would eventually turned into another argument...